Soccer Hosts Portland State Friday at 7 pm
Ducks then travel up the road for showdown at No. 5 Portland Sunday

Oct. 1, 2002

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Duck Soccer This Week

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Fri., Oct. 4 - Portland State @ Pape' Field (Eugene) - 7 p.m.
*Sun., Oct. 6 - No. 5 Portland @Merlo Field (Portland) - Noon
*Portland match televised live & tape delay by Action Sports Cable Network (go to <a href="http://www.ascn.com" target="_blank">www.ascn.com</a> for a listing of affiliates).

Home Tickets: Single Game: $4 Adult, $3 Kids. Season: $35 Adult, $25 Kids. (541) 346-4461 or 1-800-WEB-FOOT.

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Complete Oregon Soccer Release in PDF Format
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Complete Pac-10 Women's Soccer Release in PDF Format
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WHAT'S UP
The Ducks welcome Portland State to Pape' Field, Fri., Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., and then travel to No. 5 Portland, Sun., Oct. 8 at noon, in their final weekend of non-conference action. This weekend's slate features yet another top-10 opponent (the Ducks' fifth top-10 opponent already this season, and sixth in the top 25). Things won't get any easier afterwards since the Pac-10 boasts five NCAA veterans from last year, and two others that made the postseason in 2000. This weekend's matches are the sixth and seventh in a nine-match stretch in the state of Oregon (including six in Eugene). Last Sunday, the Ducks fell 3-0 to then-No. 1 North Carolina who dropped a place in several polls after their trip to Willamette Valley that also included a 0-0 tie at Portland Saturday.

ON THE TUBE
The Ducks' Sunday match at No. 5 Portland will be shown live and tape delay twice by Action Sports Network (Wed. 10/9, 8 p.m. PT, Thu. 10/10, 9:30 a.m. PT) . Go to their web site (http://www.ascn.tv) for a complete list of affiliates in Oregon, Washington and California. The Ducks' early season stop against Florida State was broadcast live by the Sunshine Network.

TOP DUCKS
Senior captain Sarah Peters (2.08 GAA, 37 saves, 14 GA) returns for her third season as a starter and earned her stripes against the Tar Heels, wrapping up 10 saves off 28 shots and 13 shots on goal. Last season, she ranked second in the Pac-10 in saves (101). Senior midfielder Amanda Orand made the most of an unexpected start two weekends ago against Wisconsin-Green Bay with her first two career goals and second-ever assist, and leads the team this season in goals (2), assists (1), points (5) and shots on goal (5). The week before against then-No. 23 Utah in Eugene, freshman Mele French claimed her first career goal. The Mililani, Hawai'i native French paces the team in shots (15), and ranks second in points (3), goals (1) and assists (1), and third in shots on goal (4). Senior Sarah Denner claimed the Ducks' first goal of the season vs. then-No. 13 Florida State. The defender corps features the other pair of captains, seniors Lindsey Peterson and Robi Thayer. The Duck offense marches on without eight of its top nine scorers from 2001 after a season-ending knee injury to sophomore forward Nicole Garbin in mid-August.

SERIES VS. PORTLAND STATE (2-1-1) & PORTLAND (0-4)
The Ducks have two wins - in 2001 (4-2) and 1997 (1-0) - and a tie in 1998 all at home against the Vikings, after a 1-0 loss at PSU in UO's inaugural season in 1996. In the UO-UP series, Portland has won each of the past four seasons - 1-0 in '98 and 3-0 in '00 in Portland, and 2-0 in '99 and 3-0 in '01 in Eugene. No current Ducks have scored against PSU or UP.

PORTLAND STATE PREVIEW
Portland State (6-2-3) has won three in a row, including home wins last weekend vs. Wyoming (1-0) and Air Force (2-0). Sophomore midfielder Katie Miyake leads the team in points (16), followed by sophomore midfielder Julie Forrest (7G, 1A, 15P, 23Sh, 13SOG), freshman forward Megan Plinski (4G, 5A, 13P, 19Sh, 9SOG), and junior forward Melanie Langley (3G, 2A, 8P, 11Sh, 7SOG). At goalkeeper, junior Joell Giger sports a 0.94 goals against average (41 saves, 106 shots faced, 3.5 shutouts) and has started all 11 matches this year. Head Coach Tara Bilanski-Erickson, a former first-team All-Pac-10 pick and 1995 Washington graduate, returns for her second season as the Vikings' head coach after a 1-15-2 record last season.

PORTLAND PREVIEW
The Pilots started the year 0-2 with losses at BYU (2-1) and Utah (2-0), but have since gone 8-0-1 (including a 0-0 tie vs. then-No. 1 North Carolina last Saturday, and a 2-1 win Sunday in Corvallis). Sophomore Christine Sinclair, a Canadian National Team member and last year's Soccer America National Freshman of the Year, paces the Pilots in 2002 in points (18), goals (8), shots (41), shots on goal (20) and game-winners (3) after missing the first two games of the year. Other leading scorers for the Pilots include senior midfielder Erin Misaki (4G, 3A, 11P, 11Sh, 6SOG), junior midfielder Wanda Rozwadowska (2G, 2A, 6P, 23Sh, 11SOG), and freshman defender Lindsey Huie (2G, 1A, 5P, 30Sh, 12SOG). Senior goalkeeper Lauren Arase has four shutouts in her six matches and sports a 0.48 GAA with 20 saves, while sophomore Cristin Shea started five games earlier in the season (0.62 GAA, 4GA, 2 shutouts). The women's head coach since 1989, Clive Charles has guided UP to NCAA tourney appearances eight of the past nine years, including six final four stops (1994, '95, '96, '98, '00, '01). He has also directed the men's program since 1986 and was the U.S. Olympic Men's Coach in 2000.